


High on Love

by P1rateW3nch



Series: The Villain Wrangler [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Prequel, Puppy Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 02:50:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15654216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P1rateW3nch/pseuds/P1rateW3nch
Summary: Jesse McCree is off to a rough start in Overwatch





	High on Love

Jesse skulked around the corner, making sure that no one could see him. Yeah, the commander said he wouldn’t be watched, but that was a load of shit as far as the teen was concerned. No legitimate organization would throw a seventeen year old sharpshooter from a gang into a trusted position. And Overwatch was as legitimate as they came. He slunk into the kitchen, pulling a pillowcase out of his pocket as he edged to the pantry. He loaded up the case with foods that would last, and didn’t need cooking and closed the doors behind him. He crept back out into the hall, careful to hold the pillowcase so that none of the wrappers crinkled.

He laughed to himself and started humming the “Mission: Impossible” theme as he made it to his room, securely bolting it behind him. He set the bag down and dragged the table in front of the door, forming a simple barricade. He didn’t trust any of them yet, and didn’t want to make it any easier for them to go after him. He scooped up the pillowcase and headed to the spare room in his quarters. It was a standard issue room, two bedrooms sharing a common living area, but he had the whole thing to himself. He was told it was because he was a minor, but he was pretty sure it was really so they could keep him off balance. He had scoured every inch of the quarters and hadn’t found any monitoring devices, but he kept checking every time he came back from a day of training.

He stuffed the new food, mostly snack cakes and gummy candy, into the opening behind a false panel he had found, along with the rest of what he had squirreled away, mostly ration bars and the like. He didn’t know what the hidey-hole was meant for, there was one in both bedrooms, but he was content to use the one in the empty room to store things. He was mostly storing food, in case they wanted to punish him by starving him, but he also had some medical equipment he had taken from the med bay.

He’d been with Overwatch for almost three months, and was jumpy as he waited for the Commander to realize what, exactly, he had rescued.

 

  
Commander Reyes sighed as he watched the security footage again. The damn ingrate was hoarding food again, and he had just finished hiding the medical equipment he’d stolen the week before. He growled softly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he swore colorfully in about four different languages. Commander Morrison hid a smile as he watched.

“So, which of us wanted a midnight snack this time?” he asked softly as Gabe deleted the footage.

Gabe bit back a snarl, then forced himself to relax. “I’ll take the heat this time. Dammit, I wish I knew why he was doing this!”

Jack reached out to rub between Gabe’s shoulder blades. “You saw the base. I’d bet they kept him ground down unless they needed him to shoot for them. Give him a bit of time.”

Gabe sighed and leaned into the touch. “Alright. We’ll do it your way for a bit.”

“Maintenance can access that panel from the other side?” Jack asked, trying to rub some of the tension out of Gabe's shoulders. Gabe nodded, eyes sliding closed under the ministrations.

“He’s just hoarding snacks and the like. I’m tempted to just get him a fridge and a microwave, but I don’t think he’d take ‘em.”

“Why not let him steal them? Order a couple, stick them in the bay as ‘Unordered surplus’, see if he lifts them?” Jack suggested.

Gabe hummed, the sound morphing into a groan as Jack hit a particularly tight grouping. “Might do. Especially if we have him do the moving.”

 

Jesse grumbled as he hauled the warehouse’s mistake back to the hangar. Apparently some dumbass in the warehouse sent a mini fridge and microwave for whatever reason, and it needed to go back. He paused, catching his breath as his mind raced. He could use these. The paperwork was right there. He could take them, and didn’t have to depend on dry ration bars or MRIs anymore.

He glanced around warily. No one was in the hall, and he could see his quarters from here. They’d fit in the cubbyhole he was using, especially if he built a shelf…. He turned down his hall, not quite hurrying, until he reached his door. He ducked inside and unloaded the appliances into a cabinet for the time being. He thought about the boxes, and decided to send them back out, anyway. He opened the window and ducked out, using a stick to keep it open, and quickly grabbed some cinderblocks from a pile nearby. They were adding a new wing onto the place, and he figured they wouldn’t be missed. Climbing back in through the window, he carefully repacked the boxes with the cinderblocks and taped them back down. He pushed the cart out of his room, making sure the coast was clear, then whistled a jaunty tune as he marched them into the hangar.

“Boss says this wasn’t ordered, it’s gotta go back.”

The quartermaster glared at him, then snatched the paperwork out of his hands. Huffing in annoyance he pointed at where he wanted them and stalked off. Jesse tipped his hat and moved the boxes where directed. It looked like they would be going out in the morning. Well, that wouldn’t do. He scanned the pile that was going out that night and swapped the labels with some hardcopy files and moved the boxes accordingly. Then he stored the trolley and sauntered away, whistling.

Once he was back in his quarters, he carefully barred the door and began emptying out his cubbyhole. He carefully slid the fridge and microwave into the space, and wedged some boards in, forming a small shelf. He found a junction box and plugged in the appliances. He loaded his favorites in his new “pantry”, and took the rest to the cubbyhole in his room. He’d sneak them back into the common room that night.

 

Gabe smiled and deleted the footage. He was proud of the kid hiding the “theft” like that, and for making sure that what was transported later wasn’t crucial. He stroked his goatee, considering. Jack had acquired a medical prodigy that would be arriving soon. It might be beneficial for the boy to spend some time with someone closer to his own age. He sent a quick message to Jack, arranging for Jesse to be loaned to Overwatch for a week to get the doctor her bearings.

 

Jesse groaned when he got the alert. Gabe had to be pissed at him, there was no other explanation. He was supposed to be meeting the new doctor, showing him around the base and playing “go-fer” for the next week. He made his way to the hangar to wait for the arrival of this Dr Ziegler.

He had settled himself on a stack of crates, practicing with a deck of cards, when the transport arrived. He tucked the cards into his pocket as he rose to stand at attention near the exit. A number of agents disembarked, a few noticing him and grinning at him, but he ignored them. He was just starting to get a bit twitchy when, at last, the doctor disembarked. He closed his eyes briefly, mentally kissing his free time goodbye, then opened them to-

Oh.

_Oh._

Dr Ziegler was a woman. Girl, really. Jesse guessed she was about his age. He tried to keep his face expressionless as he watched her. She was petite, blonde, and when she spotted him, she lit up with a grin that could rival the sun.

Jesse thought he was in love.

“Dr Ziegler? Jesse McCree. I was told I’d be showing you around,” he said, offering a hand.

She took it, and his heart gave a little flip. “Charmed, Jesse. But please, call me Angela.”

He helped her collect her bags and led the way to the medical wing, explaining the layout of the base as he went. He placed the bags just inside of her quarters when she stopped him.

“Please, it has been a long flight, and I am rather tired. Can we finish the tour after I have a small nap?”

“Sure. I’m at your disposal for the week. Just ask Athena to come get me when you’re ready.”

She smiled as she closed the door, and he stared at it for a bit, then ran off to find Commander Reyes. He skidded to a halt before he reached the office, knowing that the commander liked to keep his door open, and quickly put himself to rights. Once he was presentable, he quietly entered the office.

 

Gabe tried to hide his grin as he heard the kid come tearing down the hallway. Athena had informed him of the doctor’s arrival, and that Jesse was apparently smitten. From what he saw, the feeling was somewhat mutual. He had schooled his face into its customary glower by the time the kid entered the office.

“What,” he snapped when Jesse stopped before the desk, hat in hands.

“Doctor Ziegler is here, sir. She’s taking a nap.”

“Fine.” He slid a stack of papers over, watching as Jesse tried to hide his chagrin. “You skipped an assignment for your GED. Fix it.”

“Yessir,” Jesse mumbled, taking the papers and heading out.

Once Gabe was sure the kid was out of earshot, he laughed. The kid was probably going to hate him, but he’d be a damn good agent. He’d do great leading Blackwatch, with a bit more work.

 

Angela smiled as the door clicked shut. Jesse was… cute, in a puppy kind of way. She hadn’t missed the look of shock on his face when she had disembarked, but he had hidden it admirably well. She sent a quick message to the head of the current medical team, asking when would be an acceptable time to visit and began unpacking as she waited. Once she was settled, she took a shower and changed, asking Athena to have Jesse meet her in the medical wing. She was unsurprised to find him waiting outside her room when she emerged. He was seated on the ground, surrounded by various forms.

He looked up when the door opened, sweeping the papers up and shoving them under his chestpiece.

“Miss Angela!”

She hid a grin as he struggled to look presentable.

“I’d like to look over the medical facilities now, if you aren’t busy?”

“No, not at all. All of that’s just busywork Commander Reyes has me doing.”

She caught a piece of paper that had fluttered loose and glanced at it as she handed it back.

“GED? You don’t have a degree?”

He blushed and took the paper. “Nah. I left ‘cause it wouldn’t do me much good.”

She stopped and glared at him. “And you say it is just busywork? Jesse, a good education is vital. And I highly doubt that Overwatch would have agreed to hire you if you weren’t intelligent. Feel free to stop by. I can help with some of your assignments, if you’d like.”

He shook his head, but declined to argue. He lead the rest of the way to the medical wing and waited while she was introduced around.

_~~~Three months later~~~_

Jesse felt himself paling when a passing agent informed him the Commander wanted to see him. He hurried to Reyes’s office, mind racing as he tried to figure out what he’d done. Yeah, he and Ange had been spending time together, but he’d been ordered to make her at home, hadn’t he? And she’d been helping him with the assignments to get his GED. Well, yeah, maybe his reaction times were a bit slower because his mind was wandering, and maybe he was spending more time in the med wing than was strictly necessary, but that wasn’t anything Reyes would yell at him for, was it? And it couldn’t be the food, either. He hadn’t stolen anything from the common stores in weeks!

He stopped in front of Reyes’s door, straightening his shirt and running his fingers through his hair. Once he was more presentable, he knocked twice on the frame, then slid the door open.

“Sir? You wanted to see me?”

“McCree. Shut the door.”

Jesse gulped as he let the door slide shut behind him.

“Do you know, McCree, I didn’t think you’d pull it off this quickly.” Reyes picked a plain manila envelope off his desk and held it out.

Jesse stared at the proffered envelope, brow furrowing in confusion. At Reyes’s cocked brow he took it, sliding a finger under the flap and opening it slowly. He pulled out the embossed piece of paper, staring at it blankly.

“What- I’m done? I got it?”

Reyes nodded, leaning back in his chair with a small smirk. “Congratulations, McCree. You are now the proud owner of a General Education Diploma. Now, you get a month to enjoy your freedom before I start riding your ass about college.” Reyes studied his face and sighed. “Go gloat. You deserve it.”

Jesse fired off a sloppy salute, rushing out of the office and toward the medical wing. He ran down the halls, dancing around the other agents and staff, finally slamming the certificate against the window to Angela’s office.

She looked up, startled at the noise, then smiled at Jesse’s broad grin as he frantically pointed at the paper. She shut down the files ahe was looking over and unlocked the door. Jesse swept her up, spinning her around as she laughed.

She was silenced bu his lips on hers. She stiffened a bit in surprise and he pulled back.

“Shit, Ange, I’m sorry. I just-”

He stopped as she put her finger against his lips. She studied his face, then rose on her toes to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

It didn’t stay chaste for long.

She pulled away, gasping a bit. “Wait. Anyone could see.”

He followed her, puppy-eager, as she slid the blinds closed and locked the door. She giggled as his hands roved under her shirh, finding the ticklish spots on her abdomen. Once the room was secured, she turned, fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, wanting to feel him under her hands.

 

Jack glanced at the monitor as an alert sounded. His brow furrowed a bit as he read it. One of the medical suites had gone into lockdown, but there weren’t any agents due back today. He brought up the security footage as Gabe walked in, closing it quickly as the scene registered.

Gabe took in his embarrassed blush and snorted as he dropped into the visitor’s chair. “So, who’s fucking in the break room this time?”

“Jesse and Angela, in one of the medical suites, actually

Gabe arched an eyebrow. “Well. I knew they were getting close, but didn’t think they were that close. I wouldn’t worry about it, Jackie. She’s smart enough to take care of both of them, and he’s just thrilled he got his GED work finished.” He stretched, thinking. “I bet they forgot about the cameras.”

“Considering what they’re up to, I’d agree.” Jack sighed heavily. “So, what do you want to do about this?”

Gabe snorted. “They’re both legally adults at this point. I’ll remind them that there are cameras in the medical wing and let them connect the dots.”

Jack laughed. “You’re mean. Right, you didn’t come here for the kids being dumbasses, did you?”

“Nah. Got some reports I needed you to look over.”

 

Jesse lay back on the cot, Angela’s head resting on his chest. He stared at the ceiling and tried to find the right words.

“Well, that was…”

“Enjoyable, but not what you were looking for?” Angela asked, propping herself up to study his face.

“Yes. I mean, no! I mean- Aw, hell.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I mean, I like you. You’re probably the best friend I’ve ever had. But this… this wasn’t…”

She giggled and sat up. “I feel the same. So, shall we still be friends, or did this ruin that?”

He considered that. “Nah. I think we can still pull off being friends.”

He got up and looked around for his boxers. Angela laughed.

“Over the lamp.”

He looked up, surprised to see his boxers hanging off the light. “Huh. How’d that happen?”

He grabbed them and put them on, glancing around to see if any other articles of clothing had caught on anything else, then froze, blood draining from his face.

Angela’s bra was hanging off a security camera.

“Ange?” he asked, voice strangled. “You turned that off, right?”

“No. She didn’t.”

They both turned, faces flushing as they took in the sight of Commander Reyes leaning on the door, arms crossed as he glared at them.

“The footage will be deleted, but don’t get caught again, alright?”

He turned, the door hissing closed behind him.

Jesse gulped. “Oh, he’s gonna kill me in training.”

“Well, I’ll be here to patch you back up,” Angela told him, kissing his cheek as she handed him his jeans. “No, leave. I was in the middle of some paperwork for the Strike Commander.”

Jesse glared at her as he pulled his pants on. “I thought it was the guy’s job to kick his lovers out of bed, not yours,” he grumbled.

“Bed someone in your office next time, then you can kick them out.”

He shrugged his shirt on and walked out, buttoning it up as he left. He blushed crimson as a wolf whistle echoed down the hallway. He glared at the agent in question, ignoring his embarrassed flush.

“Alright, fine. Make fun of me all you want. But lay off Ange, alright? She’s got enough on her plate.”

The agent opened his mouth to argue, snapping it shut as Reyes snapped his name behind him.

“You heard the kid. And remember, she’s gearing to take over the medical wing. You want to piss of the people who get you painkillers when you get shot up, that’s on you.”

The agent paled and left, muttering something about the range. Reyes watched him go, shaking his head when he turned a corner.

“Don’t know how we got so many dumbasses. Here,” he said, tossing something small and brass at Jesse. “Took me a bit to find it, but you earned it. Wear it with pride.”

He sauntered off, whistling, as Jesse turned over the belt buckle. He grinned when he read it, rubbing his thumb over the elevated letters. BAMF.


End file.
